Frozen ride replacing Maelstrom?

[Arty Cordova]

Ok, Im gonna say it...why all the love for Maelstrom? I remember the first time I rode it at the height of EPCOT Center, being utterly disappointed. And the movie to me was more boring than the others in WS even in '88.

When you have SE, JII, WOM, Horizons, WOL, LTTL, KK, Living Seas, Communicore, I mean, Maelstrom kinda sucks. Do people just like it by default cuz theres so little there now?

Trackless Frozen ride? Now that may be enough to get me back to the side of the pixie dusters.

#sorrynotsorry

Great posting. I think a Frozen ride will blow Soarin out of the park. Malestrom is as exciting as riding the bus home after a long day.

 

[asianway]

Lol not everything needs a rollercoaster!

Anywho now that I got over my initial horror let me break this down in a way only I, an Avid fan of classic epcot, can.

There is nothing wrong with the Malestrom. It doesn't need to be rethemed. You meet the chars from the movie then you learn just a little bit about where some of the legends come from for real, in a fun and exciting way. You cannot argue that Maelstrom has no appeal to little kids. I, as a little girl, Loved the ride and looked foraward to it wearing my tiny plastic viking helmet and pretending to be a fierce female viking. I even had many dreams about the ride as a kid. when I cant go to Disney it's one of the things I miss most, right up there with Splash Mountain, and Space mt. As of now its my favorite ride in epcot, and the only thing remaining that I remember from growing up.

They've taken away EVERYTHING that made epcot epcot in my mind. The dark mysterious image works of old, the whimsical Rio Tiemo, and World of motion, The fantasticism of Horizons and the wonders of the original imagination ride. WOL's bright clean looking dome of gold where you can wander around and discover all kinds of things. Even the fountain I used to eat next to and watch in wonder at the Land pavillion is now gone. The only thing remaining that I remember from those better years is this ride.

Lets break down the park

Heres a list of the major attractions that have been ruin...."updated" (ok some of these updates were good like SSE)
Space ship Earth/Global Neighborhood
The Living Seas (Worst of the worst)
Imagination (TERRIBLE!)
Universe of Energy
Rio Del Tiempo (IT makes no sense now why are the 3 Cabs singing in a hallway of aztec paintings?)
Innoventions (had to)

And here are the ones removed
Horizons
World OF Motion
ALL of Wonders of life
KC/Food rocks

So What's left?
Livin' With the Land
Maelstrom
American Adventure

Admitting some people find Livin' boring. It is after all a lot of watching grass grow (But I like it though so shh)

Ironically and randomly these two remaining rides are water based.

But that makes Most of epcot completely replaced.

Can you Imagine if they treated the Magic Kingdom like this? Or Disneyland?
Heck even DCA has more remaining unchanged rides than Epcot

Can you imagine if they tore down Space mountain and Thunder Mountain splash mountain peter pan small world Haunted mansion and Dumbo? and then completely changed the rest except for three things, POTC, The Jungle Cruise and The Hall of Presidents. Then a rumor formed that POTC would be changed into a Jake and the Neverland Pirates ride?
People would be outraged.

There was a time when Epcot didnt need to rely on "safe" tie ins. They could come up with (OMIGOSH!!!) an ORIGINAL STORY!! with original Characters!! and original adventure that you can put yourself in instead of watching other chars do things that dont concern you.

When I saw the commercial for norway that tied into Frozen I ran to the internet to make sure this ride was alright. I knew what their thinking and all I could think in my head is YOU BETTER NOT!!!

Albeit I do tend to embelish my rants, but for good reason. I feel very strongly on this one. Let us have this one ride to remember the old epcot by. Just one little ride. common! You can put frozen in Magic Kingdom where the fantasy movie stuff belongs! Build a castle and all. I feel like if this ride goes I should hold a funeral for epcot haha.

The land boat ride could be made 500% better by adding the song back in

 

[AllydoesDisney]

I'm not a huge fan of Maelstrom. The trolls are creepy

 

[doctornick]

A new themed coaster? why not the Matterhorn with an Olaf AA

Actually, you could make a pretty darn good quasi-copy of the Matterhorn with a Frozen theme -- The mountain would be the North Mountain of the film -- perhaps with the ice castle perched on it -- the ride vehicles being sleds instead of bobsleds and instead of an abominable snowman, they have Elsa's giant snow creature threatening the ride. Olaf can also make an appearance during the ride.

 

[orky8]

Lol not everything needs a rollercoaster!

Anywho now that I got over my initial horror let me break this down in a way only I, an Avid fan of classic epcot, can.

There is nothing wrong with the Malestrom. It doesn't need to be rethemed. You meet the chars from the movie then you learn just a little bit about where some of the legends come from for real, in a fun and exciting way. You cannot argue that Maelstrom has no appeal to little kids. I, as a little girl, Loved the ride and looked foraward to it wearing my tiny plastic viking helmet and pretending to be a fierce female viking. I even had many dreams about the ride as a kid. when I cant go to Disney it's one of the things I miss most, right up there with Splash Mountain, and Space mt. As of now its my favorite ride in epcot, and the only thing remaining that I remember from growing up.

They've taken away EVERYTHING that made epcot epcot in my mind. The dark mysterious image works of old, the whimsical Rio Tiemo, and World of motion, The fantasticism of Horizons and the wonders of the original imagination ride. WOL's bright clean looking dome of gold where you can wander around and discover all kinds of things. Even the fountain I used to eat next to and watch in wonder at the Land pavillion is now gone. The only thing remaining that I remember from those better years is this ride.

Lets break down the park

Heres a list of the major attractions that have been ruin...."updated" (ok some of these updates were good like SSE)
Space ship Earth/Global Neighborhood
The Living Seas (Worst of the worst)
Imagination (TERRIBLE!)
Universe of Energy
Rio Del Tiempo (IT makes no sense now why are the 3 Cabs singing in a hallway of aztec paintings?)
Innoventions (had to)

And here are the ones removed
Horizons
World OF Motion
ALL of Wonders of life
KC/Food rocks

So What's left?
Livin' With the Land
Maelstrom
American Adventure

Admitting some people find Livin' boring. It is after all a lot of watching grass grow (But I like it though so shh)

Ironically and randomly these two remaining rides are water based.

But that makes Most of epcot completely replaced.

Can you Imagine if they treated the Magic Kingdom like this? Or Disneyland?
Heck even DCA has more remaining unchanged rides than Epcot

Can you imagine if they tore down Space mountain and Thunder Mountain splash mountain peter pan small world Haunted mansion and Dumbo? and then completely changed the rest except for three things, POTC, The Jungle Cruise and The Hall of Presidents. Then a rumor formed that POTC would be changed into a Jake and the Neverland Pirates ride?
People would be outraged.

There was a time when Epcot didnt need to rely on "safe" tie ins. They could come up with (OMIGOSH!!!) an ORIGINAL STORY!! with original Characters!! and original adventure that you can put yourself in instead of watching other chars do things that dont concern you.

When I saw the commercial for norway that tied into Frozen I ran to the internet to make sure this ride was alright. I knew what their thinking and all I could think in my head is YOU BETTER NOT!!!

Albeit I do tend to embelish my rants, but for good reason. I feel very strongly on this one. Let us have this one ride to remember the old epcot by. Just one little ride. common! You can put frozen in Magic Kingdom where the fantasy movie stuff belongs! Build a castle and all. I feel like if this ride goes I should hold a funeral for epcot haha.

So many things wrong with this, but most wrong item is thinking the overlay to Living Seas is the worst of the worst when, without any doubt, the abomination that is the replacement of Journey is by far, the worst of the worst. You also say imagine if Splash, Thunder, etc... were replaced, but those rides consistently pull huge crowds and wait times. Unfortunately, NONE of the items (with the exception of Journey) pulled long wait times when they were gutted or replaced.

Now, this is not to say that I approve of what they did and are doing to Epcot. To the contrary, I LOVED classic Epcot. But, a proper comparison would be to say what if COP, HOP, or CBJ were replaced. Many on these boards would flip out, for sure, but depending on what replaced it, it might be worthwhile.

The real issue, is in many instances, the Epcot replacements have been at best, only on par with the item they replaced, and often inferior (I'm looking at you Journey). Or no replacement at all.

 

[aladdin2007]

I have to say after being in Norway again today, what have they done! I realize the meetngreet is moving next month, but they took out every tree, flower, bench this pavilion had. The lines for Akershus now snake all the way around between Norway and China corridor, the meetngreet line well we all know taking up the middle and beyond,, the store is impossible, and maelstroms line extends back to akershus. The bakery line was overflowing right into the middle of the pavilion courtyard, You can not get in or out of the place. I think its an accident waiting to happen, they really have ruined the essence of the pavilion and made it ugly at that. Of course I know the scaffolding rock/waterfall repair doesnt help. But mass crowd control that is out of control.

 

[Fairybuzz]

So many things wrong with this, but most wrong item is thinking the overlay to Living Seas is the worst of the worst when, without any doubt, the abomination that is the replacement of Journey is by far, the worst of the worst. You also say imagine if Splash, Thunder, etc... were replaced, but those rides consistently pull huge crowds and wait times. Unfortunately, NONE of the items (with the exception of Journey) pulled long wait times when they were gutted or replaced.

Now, this is not to say that I approve of what they did and are doing to Epcot. To the contrary, I LOVED classic Epcot. But, a proper comparison would be to say what if COP, HOP, or CBJ were replaced. Many on these boards would flip out, for sure, but depending on what replaced it, it might be worthwhile.

The real issue, is in many instances, the Epcot replacements have been at best, only on par with the item they replaced, and often inferior (I'm looking at you Journey). Or no replacement at all.

you may be right about journey, but I was saying worst of the worst somewhat figuratively. truth is the seas omni ride was never too exciting.

(hmmm HOP....HOP..... House of....plasic???? ohhh hall of presidents sorry )

My comparison may have been better if I said say DHS or something perhaps? I really wanted to make the point that they threw out what I thought was a perfectly good park. ALL OF IT! they dont even let us have ONE little ride left. It ALLLLL had to go? Surely it wasnt THAT bad.

I once posted quite a silly thread here called Ruin your favorite rides and the sad part was that many posters could not think of anything worse than what's happened to Imagination. My thought was that If Home on The Range was a bigger hit, we'd see thunder mountain on the range or something like that. Same probably with Lone Ranger. So it may have happened. Thankfully disney seems to be no good at making western themed films these days.

Theres other places for Frozen. Peter pans not in England after all.

 

[Matt_Black]

Thankfully disney seems to be no good at making western themed films these days.

That's not unique to Disney. How many good westerns can you name that came out since 2000. 3:10 to Yuma, and... If you expand it to the past 25 years, you get Unforgiven and Tombstone, and that's about it.

 

[Fairybuzz]

That's not unique to Disney. How many good westerns can you name that came out since 2000. 3:10 to Yuma, and... If you expand it to the past 25 years, you get Unforgiven and Tombstone, and that's about it.

Wild....wild...west??? ok I see your point.

The western Genre seems to have been grounded in the simplicity of its time, which in a way makes it a time capsule, not to the 1800s but to the 50s and 60s. Thats kinda what makes Frontierland so nice the way it is. It was a simple thing good guys bad guys, good guys who acted bad but with good intentions, it has its charm. Though I never much cared for the weak women. Every now and then a tough one popped up, and when we watch them in college everyone cheers when a girl shows power. hmmm..that may be something new....a western with a female lead......

Anywho wow total tangent attack! Ok so, Its safe to say, that most of frontierland will stay grounded for at least now, which is good, since its my third fav land? maybe so? after TM and Fantasy?

Anyway I always thought Norway's Maelstrom was a really cool ride. Drakkar boats, glowing eyes, flowing Northern lights, awesome trolls, going backwards, that part where you think its gonna back out of the waterfall cave but it goes forward.....which.......actually means a troll saved your life...now that I think about it...omg...interesting...... A troll who then sends you back to your own time with oil rigs.....So he takes you from the ancient north with bears, to the modern north where the ice has melted and now theres oil docks? It all makes sense! thats not a hole in the scenary in that last drop, its a portal!! whoa ok im gonna go lie down now

 

[Sped2424]

whether the ride belongs there or not sadly doesn't matter much at this point. I think we should stop all that back and forth and leave this thread until some real news or substance rolls by. I do wonder if it is even being considered what with all the "expansions" on the horizons. By all I mean 2 star wars (maybe at this point) and avatarland.

 

[Matt_Black]

Wild....wild...west??? ok I see your point.

The western Genre seems to have been grounded in the simplicity of its time, which in a way makes it a time capsule, not to the 1800s but to the 50s and 60s. Thats kinda what makes Frontierland so nice the way it is. It was a simple thing good guys bad guys, good guys who acted bad but with good intentions, it has its charm.

You'll not that the Western genre had it's highest level of popularity right as the Cold War was at it's highest. Once Vietnam hit, you started seeing a change in the Western, with the more gritty, complex characters, most notably the ones with Clint Eastwood. And then, after detente and Glasnost, the Western pretty much dipped VERY sharply in popularity.

hmmm..that may be something new....a western with a female lead....

I take it you haven't seen The Quick & The Dead. Which might be for the best; it's not a bad movie, per se, but it's certainly no Unforgiven. Still, Sheriff Callie's Wild West has a female lead, and that's entertaining enough.

 

[WDWDad13]

it's time to turn the great movie ride into the great "Disney" movie ride....add in scenes from lots of popular Disney movies...I mean think about the possibilities... Pixar movies, Pirates, older popular Disney animated movies, etc. etc. etc.... add in special affects, animatronics, family friendly for all ages.... it could be HUGE if done correctly and cmon... how does that not make sense... you could add in a huge frozen scene....

but if they want a stand-alone frozen ride (which would probably be best based on its massive popularity)... it does not need to be a coaster... it needs to be a family friendly ride all ages can go on

 

[Fairybuzz]

You'll not that the Western genre had it's highest level of popularity right as the Cold War was at it's highest. Once Vietnam hit, you started seeing a change in the Western, with the more gritty, complex characters, most notably the ones with Clint Eastwood. And then, after detente and Glasnost, the Western pretty much dipped VERY sharply in popularity.



I take it you haven't seen The Quick & The Dead. Which might be for the best; it's not a bad movie, per se, but it's certainly no Unforgiven. Still, Sheriff Callie's Wild West has a female lead, and that's entertaining enough.

Hey I'll always have a special place in my heart for John Wayne in Searchers THAT'LL BE THE DAY!

as racist as it may have been to my 15% native heritage...

It's a shame I think they could pull off a great female lead in a western, however i would think that the writer should be female to do so. its often hard for a man, in my experience, to get inside our heads. No offense intended of course.

it's time to turn the great movie ride into the great "Disney" movie ride....add in scenes from lots of popular Disney movies...I mean think about the possibilities... Pixar movies, Pirates, older popular Disney animated movies, etc. etc. etc.... add in special affects, animatronics, family friendly for all ages.... it could be HUGE if done correctly and cmon... how does that not make sense... you could add in a huge frozen scene....

but if they want a stand-alone frozen ride (which would probably be best based on its massive popularity)... it does not need to be a coaster... it needs to be a family friendly ride all ages can go on

Actually that does bring up, what could be, a very very very fitting way to dodge the Epcot "sillification" process as I call it. Stick all the films they dont have rides for in one big ride that way we don't have to put them in Epcot!
Albeit the great movie ride may not be the greatest place for that but it does need to be updated past the early 90s

As a stand alone ride, I honestly doubt Norway's pavillion could hold the capacity required for a decent ride, which makes me nervous of another "glorious" plasma screen ride (barf). All the fun of sitting in your living room and watching some tv! Thats what I paid all that money for!! and the crowds will just swamp the place its a capacity flow nightmare!

 

[Fairybuzz]

whether the ride belongs there or not sadly doesn't matter much at this point. I think we should stop all that back and forth and leave this thread until some real news or substance rolls by. I do wonder if it is even being considered what with all the "expansions" on the horizons. By all I mean 2 star wars (maybe at this point) and avatarland.

Well I can only hope. I'd like to get in some good last rides on this thing at least, and prob wont be able to this year. I do not however, want to be the last to pass this vey...

 

[Surge38]

I don't have kids but have taken my nephews (both under 10 yrs old) around WS dozens of time and they love it. We get the Agent P on a stick thing and visit all the different countries to get the stamp and I always make them ask how to say hello and goodbye in the native language. They love it, I shop and drink, and we all LEARN something in the process.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "Agent P on a stick thing" another example of "inappropriately adding a cartoon character?"

To me this is more akin to what I said earlier about using popular cartoon characters to get kids into the learning.

Call it a spoonfull of sugar

 

[wdisney9000]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "Agent P on a stick thing" another example of "inappropriately adding a cartoon character?"

To me this is more akin to what I said earlier about using popular cartoon characters to get kids into the learning.

Call it a spoonfull of sugar

There is a difference between outfitting a classic attraction with characters (costing millions) and putting a character on a stick. But you are correct, technically the stick thing is still a character but its very subtle. Thats the way to do it. If they just slap Anna and Elsa in Maelstrom because people like the movie, thats silly (to me).

They really should start some kind of program and call it "spoonfull of sugar". Thats a great name.

.

 

[MMFanCipher]

I don't know why Norway was chosen for the Frozen ride, if it actually has been. Because Frozen, while I
enjoyed the movie very much, has almost nothing in common with The Snow Queen by Hans Christen Anderson.
There's an Ice Castle in both and I suppose if you want, you could equate Elsa to the Snow Queen, but that's a
stretch for me. If they are going to make a Frozen ride put it in a different park or on one of the empty pads.

 

[Matt_Black]

I don't know why Norway was chosen for the Frozen ride, if it actually has been. Because Frozen, while I
enjoyed the movie very much, has almost nothing in common with The Snow Queen by Hans Christen Anderson.
There's an Ice Castle in both and I suppose if you want, you could equate Elsa to the Snow Queen, but that's a
stretch for me. If they are going to make a Frozen ride put it in a different park or on one of the empty pads.

Yes, and Hans Christen Anderson was from Denmark. What's your point? As stated many, many times, the production crew drew heavily from Norway for the look and style of the film, going so far as to consult and work with Norwegian artists for authenticity (most notably, Cristophe Beck work with Frode Fjellheim on the score of the film).

 

[Fairybuzz]

Yes, and Hans Christen Anderson was from Denmark. What's your point? As stated many, many times, the production crew drew heavily from Norway for the look and style of the film, going so far as to consult and work with Norwegian artists for authenticity (most notably, Cristophe Beck work with Frode Fjellheim on the score of the film).

You see to me that just isn't good enough. It would be like putting Lord of The Rings in a New Zealand Pavillion or Tangled in America because they both have a desert. (least I think thats a desert with that little water thing). Theres no such thing as an Ice castle in Norway, and never was. I mean Ducktales had a place called "Noway" should that go there too? its silly. I swear to god if this is gonna turn into another plasma screen and no AA ride I'm going to pelt it with Churros!!

 

[mitchk]

How about they just leave the ride the way it is Please...